Delinting waste puller



June '2, 1942. Y ,J, T. LANDRETH .2,284,750

DELINTI NG WASTE FULLER Filed May 7, 1941 2.Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented J une'2, 1942' w ee SLY-PATENT OFFICE ns lm rmc WAsTaPUL En John T. Landreth, Evanston, 111., assignor to Spring PackingVCorporation, Chicago, 111., a

corporation of Illinois ApplicationM'ay7, 1941, Serial No. 392,207

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to a waste puller,

and is particularly concerned with the provision the same tinie a considerable amount of the acjtual fibrous strands'of' the waste itself.

of a waste puller which removes the lintat ,ap-

proximately the points and the instant-s of its creation. a 1 j 1 A waste puller customarily comprises a central main drum studded with teeth orpinsthroughout its periphery, with which is associated a plurality of smaller pin-studded rolls to pull, shred and ch'nib material fed to the machine.

The drum and rolls are arranged and connected by suitable drive mechanisms to act upon an indiscriminately mixed and tangled mass of thread, yarn, string, etc. which isied into the machine, so as to arrange the fibrous strands to extend generally parallel to each other, and at right angles tothe axes of the rolls. The comme'rcial waste thus produced is discharged from Although as above set-forth, the presence of a slight amount of lint in waste is not vobjectionable for most uses, nevertheless, in'the use ofsuch waste for the packing of the journal boxes of between delivery rolls at the discharge end of V the machine where the waste may be rolled upon a suitable mandrel into rolls of a required size, or

may be removedin an unro'lled state directlyfrom the delivery rolls, and placed in suitablebaskets or other suitable containers. The latter' ;pro+

cedure resulting in what is termed ,unfleeced railway cars, the presence of such lint is apt to be -a inatter of very serious consequences. The

lreason for this lies in the fact that in the pouring of oilon the waste'in a journal box to 113.-

bricate the bearing, the lint is carried, by the action of th'e oil, aroundthe-journal and along the edge of the bearing itself. There the lint is apt tolodge between the axle and the bearing to form a felt-like strip, which acts in the manner of a sdueegleeto wipe the oil from the shaft. This leaves the journal comparatively dry, and fredueritlyrmayca'use a hot-box.

Anobject of the present invention is to provide improved and simplified lint removing facilities for, and as part of a waste puller Another object is to produce a controlledflow of air throughout a working zone of a waste, puller by means of controlled suction facilities to withdraw lint and dust particles in a manner which will not disturb the normal flow'of material being worked in. its passage through the machine.

7 Another, object of the invention is to, arrange suction conduits in connection with openings in :0

trolled air currents movingtransverse1y to, the

the casing of a' waste puller so, as to create condirection of movement of and .throughfmaterial casing. Such foreignobjects, such asnutabolts,

or other small solid objects, asid from the :fact that they may occasionally cause some injuryfto the teeth on the'rol1s, .usu ally have no other damaging effect on the machine, and do not succeed in remaining in the material so as to be present in the finished product.

Sincemost of the waste produced by, this type of mechanism is used for the, wiping or-machinery, cleaning, and such uses, it is notjob- L3 jectionable if thefinished waste contains a relatively large amount of lint. As a matter of fact, it is well known to those familiar with the art that ordinary commercial waste does contain a fairly large quantity of linti Although some attempts have been madejin the past to manufacture waste with the lint removed, suchfefiforts have not met 'withsuccess, due to' tlie fact'that in attempting to remove the lint from the main newer the material. l r

Another object-of the invention is to create a pluralityof suction zones in a waste puller at points of maximum dust creating action in such machine during a working operation 'thereof, the, zones being controlled by structural features ,of the wastepuller to create a gentle flow of air through and around material upon which work "being processed, Without affecting the normal is being performed, so as to withdraw lint particles from the material without disturbing th major fibrous strands of the material.

Another object is to remove the lint from waste forming material in a lint puller 'at'p'oints of maximum lint'production.

bodyof the waste, there would be drawn ofi at [Another object is to provide an improved .method for removing the lint from waste forming material while such material is being processed.

Otherhobjects andadvantages of the invention will, be apparent fromthe following description and the accompanying drawings in which similar an observationzone, and to, connect a suction duct to a suction hood mounted on the of a waste puller; and V Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic vertical longitudinal section through the waste puller and associated parts illustrated in Fig, 1.

Referring to the drawings in detail,.my.improved de-linting waste puller A has a supporting frame I which may be of cast iron. A main cylinder 4 is keyed to ,a shaft 3, which in turn is casing journaled in a pair of bearings 2 in the frame I. .A belt drive pulley 5 is keyed to the shaft 3, and

is arranged to drive a tight and loose pulley, arrangement 6 of a conventional type, bymeans of a belt, not illustrated.

The tight and loose pulleys are mounted upon 1 a shaft 1 which has a pinion 8 keyed to the inner .end thereof.

The pinion 8 has, conventional meshed driving engagement with other gears .and pinions arranged in a well known manner on the machine, the gearing being covered by suitable guards such asthose indicated by the reference numerals 9 and I0. Other suitable gears, belts, sprockets, and chains are provided on the oppositeside of themachine from that illustrated in Fig. 1, to drive the various rolls and other operative parts of the machine, but since such drive arrangements are of a type well known to those familiar with the art, it will be unnecessary to illustrate and describe such mechanisms in detail. 1

The operative parts of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1 are shown diagrammatically in Fig. 4.

A feed apron includes a conventional feed belt ll mounted on a pair of rollers I2 and I3, which are connectedby means of suitable drive mechanisms, not illustrated,-to move the belt, II in the direction of the arrow, to carry raw unworked material into the machine.

A pair of feed rollers l4 and I5 are provided with gear-like teeth to receive the material supplied by the feed apron and to feed such material into the machine at a predetermined speed. The feed rollers 14 and I5 are mounted on bearings l1 and II to resist the pull of the teeth of the main cylinder 4, which tend to draw the material into the machine more rapidly than is desired. The feed rolls l4 and I5 are driven in directions opposite to each other as'indicated by the arrows in Fig. 4, to feed the material into the machine a As the teeth of the main cylinder 4 seize the material being fed between the feed rolls l4 and I5, they tend to carry this material upwardly over the top half of the main cylinder 4, the forwardly sloping teeth of the main roller catching the tan- .gled mass of threads, string and yarn, etc., there-, by performing an initial carding or combing action on the mass as it is still gripped by the feed rollers, A plurality of smaller rolls are mounted .to-be spaced outwardly from the main cylinder length of the teeth of the main cylinder, and of the smaller cylinders or rolls. The smaller rolls are connected by means of suitable drive mechanisms mounted on the opposite side of the machine from that illustrated in Fig. 1, so that all of these smaller rolls rotate in the same direction as each other, and as the main cylinder 4, the direction of rotation being indicated by the arrows in Fig. 4.

The surface speed of the main cylinder 4 is materially greater than that of any other roll or cylinder in the machine. As an example of work- 4 a distance slightly greater than the combined able speeds for the various rolls, the main cylinder may be rotated at a speed of 235 revolutions per minute, while the smaller worker and stripper rolls, numbered from I8 to 24, inclusive, are rotated at a speed of approximately 11 revolutions per minute.

It will be noted that the angular position or slope of the teeth on some of these small rolls is opposite to that of the teeth on others of the small rolls. The slope of these teeth has a ma- .terial effect on the action of the rolls on the material being processed. The rolls I 8, I9, 20 and 2| have their teeth mounted to slope rearwardly with respect to their direction of rotation, and these rolls are known as stripper rolls, since the action on the material being worked in passing between the teeth of the stripper rolls and the main cylinder, is to clear the teeth of these stripper rolls from any accumulation of the material being worked.

The rolls 22, 23 and 24 have the teeth thereof arranged to slope forwardly with respect to the direction of rotation of these rolls. The action of the worker rolls 22, 23 and 24 tends to seize the material being Worked as it is carried around by the action of the main cylinder 4, and to drive the teeth of these worker rolls into the mass of thread-like material, thereby tending to open up and straighten out any tangles or lumps of the material as the material is carried through the machine by the heavy main cylinder 4.

The action of the stripper rolls is to return the mass of material to the teeth of the main cylinder so that the material, as it passes through the machine, is alternately laid into the teeth of the main cylinder, by the stripper rolls, and is then seized by the teeth of the worker rolls so as to pull and straighten out the fibrous strands of the mass, and to tear open any lumps or tangles in such mass.

As the de-linted material passes the last stripper roll 2|, it is carried between the main cylinder 4 and a doffing roll 26. This dofiing roll rotates slowly in a direction opposite to that of the main roll and the worker and stripper rolls as indicated by the arrow, and the teeth of the ,dofling roll 26 are sloped rearwardly with respect 'packed onto the dofilng roll in the form of a fleece or batt, and is carried around the under side of the dofiing roll, and thence passes between a pair of fluted delivery rolls 2'! and 28. The delivery rolls 2'! and 28 are driven to rotate at a speed which will give these rolls approXL- mately the same surface speed as that of the dofiing roll 26.

a required.

, After passing between thedelivery rolls 2'! and 28, the material, which at this stage is in the form of a batt, with the majority. of the threads 1 running lengthwise with respect toits direction of travel, passes across a delivery-board 29; and:

onto a pair of winding drums 30 and3l. These winding drumstll and 3| are driven by conventional drive mechanism to rotate in the same direction as the bottom feed roll 21. 1 When the waste is to'be used for journal box packing, it is drawn-over the rolls 30 and 3| and thence onto an apron, not shown, of a conventional type, and is picked up by an operator and deposited in'an unfleeced condition in a suitable container, such as a basket.

slotted guide-ways, it will rest on the batt between the rollers-35 and 3|. ually wraps an initiallayer of the batt around The operator man the mandrel 32, and thereafter the action of the rollers 35and 3i continues to roll .the battxas it is delivered from the machine, onto the mandrel 32 until a suitable quantity has been rolled thereon.

. Whenthe roll of batting on the mandrel has reached a required size, the operator manually removes the mandrel 32 with its. supported roll from the machine, the batt material tearing easily as it is removed, and theroll of batting is then placed in a suitable container, such as a shop delivery truck. The mandrel is then slidably withdrawn from the roll .and is again returned to the machine where successive rolls are thus formed and removed from the machine as The waste puller'embodies facilities for lint removal and includes a pair ,of .vacuumhoods mounted on the casing A of the machine. The casing A has a pair of end plates 35 and afixed central cover section 35 A pair of cover sec direction as each other, and also in the same slopes upwardly from 'a relatively small closed end 48 to provide a chamber of increasing cross-. sectional area as it approaches the discharge end 49, thereby to maintain a substantially equal negativepressure throughout the entire length of the opening 43. The discharge end of the hood is provided with a conversion collar 55 by means: of which the rectangular end 49 conveniently may be connected to a cylindrical collar |,see Fig. 3.

A suction control sleeve 52 is mounted on the collar 5|I to .haveia relatively tight fit thereon,

V and is provided with a pair of adjusting handles 53 and 54 by which the sleeve 52 may be adjusted lengthwise of the collar 5|.

A suction duct 55,.which may be of a size to fit intothe sleeve 52, is spaced laterally from the end of the collar 5i a distance equal to approximately one-half the length of the sleeve 52, so that the sleeve 52 may be moved toward the leit 'fromthe position shownin Fig. 3, to close, as required, the gap between the sleeve 52 and the duct 55. The duct 55 maybe connected to a larger duct 56, which in turn is connected to the intake side of a centrifugal blower 57. a

The outlet 58 of the blower 51 is connected by suitable dixctsynot illustrated, to a conventional settling'chamber or filter bag so that the airborne lint particles passing through the blower maybe recovered. A damper of a conventional type,.=not illustrated, may be provided in the duct 56, if desired, and is connected to an. operating lever 16, which may be manipulated by control cords "and 18.

A'bracket T0 is secured to the duct 55 as by means ofbolts TI and T2, the other end of the bracket being connectedto the side plate of the casing. A to provide a support for the duct 55. Asimilar bracket 15 is connected from the frame I to a second duct 63.

A hood 60 is mounted on the hinged cover 37 in a manner similar to that of uhe hood 44, and the hood 60 is connected by a suitable conversion coupling 6| and slidable collar 52 to the second tions 36 and 3i are hinged attheir upper ends to the fixed central cover section 35', and are adapted to be swung upwardlyabout their hinged connections so as to permit inspection and repair 7 of the cylinders and rollers within the casing. I

Each of the hinged cover sections 35 and 31 'is provided with a pair of studs 38 and 35 respectively These studs are adapted to be engaged by securing-hooks 4!] and 4! which are pivotally mounted on a rod 42, supported on brackets carried by the fixed central cover section 35'. Either cover section may be swungupwardly so that the studs 33 and 39 are engaged by the hooks 40 and M, to support the coversections in. raised position.

A handle 42 is provided to permit manipulation thestripper roll 2lhas a tendency to lay ,materialbeing processed'into the teeth of. the main cylinder, so that the space between the doffing roll and the stripper roll .2I is. at all times substantially clear of the'material being processed.

, These factors are important in producing condi of the hooks 40 and 4! in engaging or releasing the studs Stand 39.

The cover member 36 is provided with a slotted opening 45 which extends lengthwise above the worker roll 22.

A vacuum hood 44, illustrated in Figs; 1, 2 and 4, preferably ismade of galvanized sheet metal, and is illustrated asbeing of rectangular cross sectional shape. The lower edges of the hood are provided with inwardly extending flanges 45 and 45by which the hood is bolted as at" to the hinged cover 36; The top of the hood 44 tions for maximum lint removal with minimum disturbance of the material being processed.

An apron 54, preferably of light material such as plywood or sheet metal, is hinged to the casing A below the lower edge of the hinged cover 31 to overlie the doffing roll 26, and to form an air deflector to direct a current of air over the doffing roll, and past the stripper roll 2|.

The lower portion of the frame around the main cylinder is provided with two large openings 65 and 65, as illustrated in Fig. 1, so that the entire area below a horizontal plane passing through the axis of the main cylinder will be maintained thereby substantially at atmospheric pressure. v

"The ends of the main cylinder 4 are spaced inwardlyi'from the ends of the casing so that the space between the worker roll 23' and the stripper roll I9 is, by means of such spacing, in open communication with the atmosphere.

During the operation of the machine, the tangled fibrous strands of material passing through the machine are caught between the oppositely sloping teeth of the main cylinder and the worker rolls, and the threads, yarn and string, etc., of the material are pulled into general alignment with each other, and any lumps present are opened up, with the result that the lint contained in the tangled mass is violently dislodged. In addition, since many of the stranded elements of the mass are broken into shorter lengths by this violent action, a large amount of lint is generated thereby so that a major lint producing area is present in each of the zones of operation of the three worker rolls 22, 23 and 24, where the cooperative action of the teeth occurs.

By operating the blower 51, suction is created in the ducts 55 and 63, the blower'5l being selected to have a capacity greater than that'required for performing the lint removal function of the apparatus.

, The hoods 44 and 60, and their associated slots are positioned so that when subjected to a proper negative pressure, advantage is taken of the normal relation of the casing andthe drums and rolls of the machine to produce a plurality of gentle and properly directed air currents within the interior of the machine in the following manner: One current of air will pass upwardly from the openings 65 and 66, and through the space between the casing and the ends of the main cylinder. Part of this air stream will flow between the worker roll 22, and the stripper roll l8 in a direction transversely to the direction of movement of the material through the machine.

A second similar current of air will pass upwardly around the ends of the main cylinder and into the space between the worker roll 23 and the stripper roll l9, while a third current of air will pass between the upper surface of the doffing roll 26 and the shield 64. of course, find their way through and between the various rolls, but it is upon these three major currents directed to pass through the zones of operation of the co-acting teeth of the main cylinder andworker rolls, that the principal dust removing characteristics of the apparatus depends.

The degree of suction may be controlled by moving the sleeves 52 or 62 lengthwise of their respective collars 5| or Bl to increase or decrease the length of the gap separating the sleeves from their respective ducts 55 or 53, as best'illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3. An increase in the length of such gap will increase the amount of Other minor currents will,

atmospheric air which is by-passed through the gap and into the ducts and 63, thereby to decrease the suction within the hoods 44 and 6|].

The gaps between the collars 52 and B2 and their respective ducts 55 and 63 provide convenient sighting openings so that an operator, by sighting across either of these gaps, can perceive whether or not any of the longer fibrous strands are being sucked from the machine, and if so can increase the gap, and thereby reduce the suction to the required degree,

Once the proper adjustment is made, the operation remains uniformly satisfactory for an indefinite period. It has been found advisable, however, to check the adjustment at least once or twice each day, or when starting the machine, to insure that the parts are functioning properly.

By locating the relatively narrow slotted openings over the worker rolls, the Worker and stripper rolls comprise, with the main cylinder, baffies to direct'air currents transversely to and through material as it is processed. This arrangement, while of great simplicity, is of maximum effectiveness in lint removal and results in a minimum disturbance of the fibrous strands being processed.

With ordinary waste forming material, there will be produced in an average days run, with a conventional type of machine having a main cylinder and rolls approximately 48 inches long, about 15,000 pounds of substantially lint-free waste, and about 400 pounds of the lint and dust which in the past floated in the air within and about a waste puller, and which particles are commonly referred to as flies. The flies removed by my de-linting waste puller can be used, for instance, as an ingredient in making tarred felt, and for other useful purposes, and is therefore not a mere waste material.

The use of my invention, in addition to improving greatly the processed material for the highly important product, journal packing, has the additional advantage of producing a useful by-product.

The working conditions in the vicinity of the machine during its operation are also immeasurably improved by the use of my invention, since the air in the vicinity of the machine is maintained free from the cloud of flies which in the past has surrounded waste pullers not embodying my invention.

While I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction as set forth, but desire to. avail myself of all changes within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A de-linting waste puller having a toothed main cylinder and a plurality of worker and stripper rolls spaced outwardly from the main cylinder, a casing wholly enclosing a top portion of the main cylinder and the worker and stripper rolls, the casing being open at its lower portion to the atmosphere, the casing having a hinged cover portion over at least one of the worker rolls, the cover having a slotted opening therein extending lengthwise over the worker roll, a hood over the slotted opening, the hood having a laterally disposed opening therein, a duct mounted to register with the laterally disposed opening in the hood with the cover in closed position, and to be separated from said hood by a gap, an adjustable gap closure member movable relatively to said duct and said hood to regulate the size of the gap separating the hood and the duct, and suction means associated with the duct to reduce the pressure therein and in said hood below atmospheric.

2. A de-linting waste puller having a toothed main cylinder, a plurality of worker and stripper rolls spaced outwardly from the main cylinder, a casing enclosing the top portion of the main cylinder and the worker and stripper rolls, the easing being open to the atmosphere on a side opposite to said worker rolls, the casing having a slotted opening beyond one of the worker rolls, a suction hood over the slotted opening, said hood having an opening therein, a duct mounted to stripper rolls journaled outwardly from the main l0 cylinder and spaced laterally from each other, a casing wholly enclosing a top portion of the main cylinder and the worker and stripper rolls, the casing being open at its lower portion and around the ends of the rolls to the atmosphere, the casing having an elongated narrow opening therein radially beyond and extending parallel to, the axis of at least one of the worker rolls, the elongated opening being substantially coextensive with the length of such worker roll, a suction device, a duct connecting the interior of the casing through the elongated opening to an area of reduced pressure generated by the suction device to generate a flow of air within the casing in the immediate vicinity of the worker roll adjacent said opening barely suficient to support, as air-borne particles, dust and lint released from a waste-making mass of fibers by the operation of the worker roll adjacent to said opening, thereby to localize in the area of maximum dust and lint generation, gentle dust and lint removing air currents for minimum disturbance of the fibers comprising the waste.

JOHN T. LANDRETH. 

